This was a good one!
Having not read anything by Yulin Kuang before, I was unsure what to expect from this romance. What I got was lightyears beyond my expectations and a truly wonderful read.
First off: This story has some darkness to it. It's realistic and feels earned, but I do feel it's important to research trigger warnings before reading. The dark and uncomfortable parts of this book are a big part of why I love it so much. It's raw, gritty, messy and incredible for character development and reader investment.
Second: So often the enemies-to-lovers trope is overhyped and poorly done. This is an excellent example of how to do it effectively. There is a clear and realistic reason why our female main character does not like or want any involvement with our male main character. So much so, that I think the development of this story is pretty extraordinary in how it progresses this trope so organically given the past trauma involved for our characters.
Third: This story is sexy and also romantic! Truly! That shouldn't be a shock when it comes to a romance, but so often the spicy is done poorly, or there's too much of it, or there aren't any romantic moments, or the attempts at true romance are clunky and awkward. Kuang is able to deftly navigate romance and spiciness, which is absolutely fantastic for the reader.
Fourth: Third act conflicts can be a bit of a make-or-break for me when it comes to a romance read. Fortunately, this book stuck that landing! It's understandable and does truly seem insurmountable and I felt so so deeply for our main characters as the conflict ran its course.
I just adored this story and I hope you pick up this book so you can adore it too!

Hands down this is going to be my favorite romance of the year. I actually don't even know how to review it because it was so emotional to me. A romance where it feels like the conflict is insurmountable - how can two people, tied together by grief and the death of Helen's sister, overcome something so huge? I truly didn't know how Yulin was going to get us there but she did. It hurt a lot. But the ending is so worth it.

Yulin has tension throughout the book in a way that is literally heart pounding. Whether it's the tension of their hatred toward each other in the beginning, turning into the tension of will they/won't they (that couch scene alone with the fingers truly messed me up I was RIVETED), into the tension of how Helen would be able to have Grant and also not disappoint her parents. It felt like a thriller: just emotions on a rollercoaster, sweaty anxiety matched with sweaty swoony. Once Grant and Helen start to figure out their feelings, things seem smooth but they are anything but.

I loved Helen: stoic, scared but not able to show it. She felt like externally someone people would call emotionless but because we were in her head we knew she feels every little thing. "You feel a lost of responsibility for other people's feelings." WHEW. I mean Helen's feelings about her sister alone could be a whole book. She is DEEP and feels so deeply, but sometimes doesn't seem able to allow herself to. And Grant: grieving the accidental death he caused, unable to fully show people his true self, but only showing a mask. I don't think I've seen grief portrayed in this way, so differently, by two main characters. Just absolutely beautiful.

And the writing? Absolutely stunning. "She thinks perhaps this is the only angle from which to catch a glimpse of this version of Grant, slightly off to the side and looking up toward him." Idk why but lines like this just wrecked me. Or... "Grant shoots her a crooked, reassuring smile that seems to wedge right into a wobbling corner of her heart. Almost there, it seems to say." MY GOD. Or my favorite.... "she could still write an entire book of poems about all the ways she breaks her mother's heart in a day." I just.....

"She isn't sure why her heart feels like it's breaking when it hasn't been working properly in years anyway." Yulin, gosh wreck me why don't you. And. the letters she writes to her sister, about the kind of love that she wishes she had and wishes she deserved??? I am still a mess.

What more can I say?

Overall I give it 4 ⭐️!

This was really well written and I’m excited for more from Yulin Kuang! The first 50% was really interesting and I loved the push and pull from the two main characters. I think once they got together it got slow and we were just waiting for the inevitable third act breakup. I really liked how the characters were flawed and relatable. Helen feeling like love will never happen to her and hating hugs or any sort of comforting had me seeing myself in her and Grant’s anxiety and his problem with not having anyone to go to because he knows a lot of people but he doesn’t have that one person he can go to no matter what also had me seeing myself in him. I loved the side characters and I really like how the ending was a little bow on top. The story did cover heavy topics and honestly I don’t think I would ever be able to get over that if I was in the story. I think the story would have been more interesting if in the past the two main characters had a connection other than the sister like they barely knew each other so the impact of what happened was not that deep however I still think it’s good and worth a read.

3.5 stars! I liked this but didn’t love it and I can’t quite figure out why. The premise is a hard one to overcome and I didn’t totally connect with either of the characters’ POV. I did really like the meta-ness of the peek behind the writers room curtain, and thought the writing was strong, which gives me hope for Kuang’s work on the Emily Henry adaptations. I would definitely still read her next book!

Helen is a bestselling YA author who has the incredible opportunity to be in the writer's room when her series is being turned into a TV show. Little does she know, someone from her past is also in the writers room. Back in high school, Helen didn't really know Grant. Until one night when her sister commits suicide and runs in front of the car Grant is driving - an event that both Helen and Grant are still grappling with 13 years later. Helen initially makes it incredibly clear that she doesn't want to work with Grant but vows to be professional. The one thing Helen can't be is attracted to Grant, given their history. And yet...

My GOODNESS I loved this book! I truly couldn't put it down despite the heaviness of it - it was so engaging, enthralling, and emotional!

This book reads a bit like a screenplay but in a way that I think really works for this story - I could certainly see it being a movie of it's own. It's a story of two deeply damaged people coming together despite the odds stacked against them. It's angsty and gritty but also lovely and sweet. The pining that happens in this book even when the characters are together is unmatched. It also genuinely feels like a love story that could happen - you don't have to suspend your disbelief. The emotions are deep and heartwrenching but also help you to understand the characters better. The found family in that writers room was so lovely and I wanted to be friends with them all!

And this book weirdly had a third act breakup that I didn't hate?? I think it's a case where the breakup really needed to happen for Helen in particular to really recognize her emotions and unresolved grief both in relation to her sister's death and her parents handling of it. I also like that the breakup lasted a few months in the book, since my usual gripe with third act breakups is that the breakup is brief and often neither character does any work on themselves. I also like that when Helen decides to get in contact with Grant again, she does so knowing that her parents may never truly accept him. And we see that in their interactions with him in the end of the book - I think that unresolvedness is incredibly realistic.

I do recommend looking up the trigger warnings before reading as there are some pretty big ones and they are discussed quite a bit throughout the book.

Thank you to Avon and Netgalley for the eARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

A stunning debut that filled me with melancholy, longing, and wanting. Told in alternating POVs within each chapter, Kuang's debut is tightly written and expertly paced.

How to End a Love Story follows Helen, a YA author whose best-selling series has been optioned for TV, and Grant, the second in command of the writer's room for the show. But Helen and Grant's connection is far deeper and more bitter. In high school, Grant was driving the minivan that hit and killed Helen's sister, Michelle. The accident wasn't an accident, her sister had committed suicide. This dark history puts the two at odds in the writer's room, though the forced proximity turns their disdain into a relationship.

It's hard to fully convey the emotions of this book. Grant and Helen pine for each other while they are still together. There's a sense of longing and wanting, for each other in the moment and for something more in the future. It's melancholic as both Helen and Grant still grapple with what Michelle's suicide did to each of them. There's conflict in the fact that Helen can't imagine her parents ever accepting Grant. There's tension in Helen feeling resentful of her immigrant parents, of feeling somehow removed from who they are and who they want her to be. Those emotions stick with you throughout the story. You desperately want Helen and Grant to be okay, individually and together.

I'll be honest, until now, I've been worried about the adaption of Beach Read and People We Meet on Vacation. However, this book has left me hopeful that she'll bring the same love and care to those books that she brought to her own.

* Thank you to Avon and NetGalley for access to the eARC in exchange for my honest review! *

Helen's younger and quite depressed sister, Michelle, steps in front of a moving car, while both girls are in High School. Grant is the school football star and he is behind the wheel of that moving car. Years go by and Helen and Grant just happen to start working on a project together in Los Angeles. Though Helen "hates" Grant for his part in Michelle's suicide, she finds herself attracted to him. A rollercoaster of romance ensues, and both Helen and Grant learn about love, forgiveness, healing and moving on.

This is a sweet story, but Helen is a kind of irritating character, who's decisions don't really seem to make sense. There's a lot of (maybe too much?) steamy sex going on in this story. Early in my reading, I was really ready for the book to end. I did find the ending satisfying but predictable.

Thanks to NetGalley for allowing me to read and review How to End a Love Story.

This was incredible! Beautifully written and paced, and most of all so incredibly tender, sweet, and swoon-worthy. I'm so impressed by this being Yulin Kuang's debut and I really can't wait to see how she adapt's Emily Henry's novel.

3.5 stars

What if, despite your best efforts, you find yourself falling in the man who's technically responsible for the death your sister and is now working on the TV adaptation of your best-selling book?

Thirteen years after her sister died by suicide, Helen Zhang is still grieving and has unresolved anger towards her sister and parents. Despite her success, she's suffering from writers block and is lonely after her her fellow writer friends subtly distance themselves. Her grief finds a target when she discovers Grant Shepard is second-in-charge of the writing team of her book and he's everything she's not - personable, affable and able to fit in with the team. Yet she doesn't realise Grant has PTSD attacks resulting from her sister involving him in her death.

With Emily Henry's endorsement, I was eager to read Yulin Kuang's 'How to End a Love Story'. There's fantastic insight into how a writer's room works thanks to Kuang being a screenwriter. I also liked the subtle touches that many of us who are first generation born to immigrant parents will get (e.g. the way Helen 'confronts' her parents over withholding about Grant's involvement in her show.).

Unfortunately this book was let down by an incomplete character journey that made me not buy the romance. I struggled how to rate this because her writing style is strong and the plot is intriguing, but I felt I was told more than shown their chemistry and romantic connection. Helen and Grant are both broken people who feel undeserving of love, but it felt like they were trauma bonding via a lot of sex. If this book focussed more on Helen dealing with her grief without Grant's involvement in her sister's death then perhaps that might've worked better.

Thanks to Avon and Harper Voyager and NetGalley for the ARC.

RATING: 2.75/5 STARS

I really wanted to like HOW TO END A LOVE STORY more than I did. I've read books with this type of premise that were done better than this book. I did not connect with the main characters Helen and Grant at all, and was not sold on their love story. There were romantic moments that were well written, but the amount of angst and unnecessary conflict in this plot was over the top and kind of exhausting. The author does have a good writing style and composes her scenes well, so I am optimistic about her adaptation of Emily Henry's work.

For a debut novel , I liked it . I was hooked by the first couple of pages !
its has a good bit of depth , from grief, romance and forgiveness .

Before reading Yulin Kuang’s literary debut 𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘰 𝘌𝘯𝘥 𝘢 𝘓𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘚𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺, I honestly had trepidations. The premise—two writers who were once loosely acquainted in high school and brought together briefly but significantly in tragedy meet again 13 years later as co-workers on a television show—has the makings of a moving, memorable novel. But it also has the potential to be a histrionic mess of words if handled poorly. I am relieved and pleased to report that this is a beautifully written romantic drama and that the tropes of forced proximity, office romance, and forbidden love are utilized skillfully.

Kuang is a brilliant storyteller. Though this is her first novel, her background in screenwriting and directing is evident in her work. She is great at penning dialogue and setting a scene. I often felt like I was watching a scene unfold rather than just reading words on a page. But my favorite part of her writing is her characterization. She has a knack for creating and presenting characters who seem realistic and fully formed. There is Helen Zhang—once a serious, awkward, academically-minded teenager, now a reserved, self-conscious, career-focused 31-year-old YA writer who has joined the writing staff of her series’ TV adaptation in order break out of her personal and professional rut. There is Grant Shepard—former class president and homecoming king whose attractiveness, natural charisma, and ease with people have served him well in his Hollywood writing and producing career but have masked his anxiety and intimacy issues. There are their colleagues on the show—each charming and appealing in their individual ways, but never quirky for the sake of being rom-com quirky. And there are Helen’s mother and father—parents who genuinely love their daughter but struggle with emotionally connecting with her due to cultural differences, parental expectations, and the weight of grief. They all came across as complex, well thought-out personas.

My main disappointment, however, was with the third act break-up. 𝘓𝘰𝘳𝘥, 𝘐 𝘭𝘰𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘳𝘥 𝘢𝘤𝘵 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘬-𝘶𝘱. To be fair, it is a common element in romance fiction and I suppose that, yes, a separation between Helen and Grant at some point in their journey may have been necessary to give the characters room to really sit with their feelings, reflect on their neuroses, and grow both as individuals and in their relationship. However, I feel like the length and circumstances of theirs was a bit overwrought. Helen and Grant already had enough obstacles in their relationship, putting them through more pain to advance the narrative seemed unnecessary to me. Admittedly, it was not the worst offender of all the third-act breakups I’ve read, so it was a disappointing hiccup in an otherwise smoothly executed book.

Overall, 𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘰 𝘌𝘯𝘥 𝘢 𝘓𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘚𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺 is a compelling, poignant novel about vulnerability and forgiveness. This will likely be one of my favorite reads this year. I strongly recommend it to those who enjoy romance novels like 𝘙𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘤 𝘊𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘥𝘺 by Curtis Sittenfeld, 𝘉𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘓𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴 by Emily Henry, and 𝘓𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘖𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘞𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘴 by Christina Lauren. Thank you to Avon Books and NetGalley for an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you, NetGalley, for an advanced copy of “How To End A Love Story” in exchange for a review.

I didn’t have prior experience with Yulin Kuang, but now I’m seeing her everywhere in connection to the “Beach Reads” adaptation, so I went in with big hopes!

For a debut novel, I’m impressed. I do get annoyed by the ‘I refuse to admit my feelings’ storyline, so that was a turn off for me, but the overall execution and storyline were well done. I liked the characters and they had real chemistry. I think this will do well upon release!

Spice level: 🔥🔥🔥/5

Book Review: How to End a Love Story
Stars: 5 X 5
Author: Yulin Kuang
Publisher: Avon/William Morrow/Harper Collin’s
A big Thank You to NetGalley for this ARC.

What a wonderful story this was. You will cry, laugh and shout out loud at times.

Helen Zhang is an author of young adult books and has a series that is being groomed by Hollywood for a tv show. Helen ends up in Southern California and in the “writer’s room” for her show. Will Los Angeles be the fresh start that Helen is craving? Grant is also a writing on the series and he meets Helen in the “writer’s room”. Grant who is a screenwriter has some past issues that he has dealt with and seemed to move on. Grant and Helen are surprised to see each other in the “writer’s room” ad they have a past. They went to the same high school.
Helen’s sister killed her self when they were in high school. She killed herself 13 years ago by running in front of a car. This affected Helen very much and she started isolating herself from others and she had a lot of guilt and insecurities. Grant was the person driving the car that Helen’s sister ran in front of. Grant has had a hard adjustment and he still has occasional panic attacks and suffers from imposter syndrome. Helen and Grant haven’t seen each other since this happened. The tension between them is a lot in the beginning and rather bumpy.
As Grant and Helen are forced to work together and must also deal with the past coming to life again. They both are still dealing with guilt from the trauma of the suicide. Slowly as they work together they start to support each other and they become friends and eventually much more. `As this relationship between the two of them develop, there is so much healing that occurs with the hearts and guilt these two people share. They both end up forgiving each other and Helen’s sister too. There is a bit of family drama that ensues during this time too. The complex family dynamic is all over the place. Helen and Grant have a great love story but in the end, they decide to end the relationship and remain friends.

This was a wonderful book full of love, lost, regret, humor, tragedy and friendship.. Helen and Grant are so broken that it takes the friendship and love between them to become whole again. The book was wonderfully written and it also reminds us all that not all love stories have to have a happy ending..

Thank you to NetGalley, Avon and Harper voyager and to the author for the Arc in exchange for my honest review.

I’d rate this book a solid 4 / 5 ⭐️

This is an emotional romance, that involves trauma and forgiveness. I honestly liked it more than I expected too and I can’t wait to see what other books this author releases 🤍

Helen Zhang’s sister committed suicide by jumping in front of Grant Shepard’s vehicle. Now as an adult, 13 years in the future Helen is a young adult author to a book getting adapted into a film and one of the screen writers just happens to be Grant Shepard….


Tropes:

Forbidden romance
Enemies to lovers
Screenwriter x author
He falls first

I definitely recommend the read, Helen was easy to relate with and I loved Grants Character. 🤍

Wow! This was a great book! This wasn’t something I felt I could rush through—definitely not a quick read for me. I had to savor this story word by word, and I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it.

I loved Helen and Grant, both together and separately. I loved the glimpse into screenwriting and the writers room, and how that all turns into the production of the show. I loved the tortured backstory, and how both Grant and Helen were able to heal and grow.

There were many parts of this book that made me cry, but many more that made me smile and laugh. That ending, with Shelley, had all those feelings beating me at once. This was a fantastic debut and I can’t wait to see what else this author does.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

“How to End a Love Story” is a steamy, enemies to lovers contemporary romance novel. It is the story of Helen and Grant who went to the same high school, share a tragic past, and reconnect across the country as adults in LA where Grant is on the team as a screenwriter for Helen’s YA novel being turned into a show.

I loved learning about how novels turn into screen adaptations and how each unique team member had a hand in the final script. This romance was a bit too slow, it took until about 40% in to pick up, but then it became super steamy!

Overall I did not really connect with Helen’s character and I was annoyed with her parents. A solid three star read for me.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own

The premise of this book was really difficult for me to look past. The story starts with a funeral for Helen’s sister and then fasts forward 13 years. Helen is a successful author whose book series is being turned into a tv show. Because of this Helen is moving from NYC to LA where she doesn’t know a soul. Well, except when she finds out Grant is in the writers room for the show. The same Grant who was driving the car when it hit her sister, to no fault of his own. This was such a huge premise for me to overcome in this story because it just didn’t seem believable that these two people could be in a romantic relationship. Beyond this, the story was enjoyable and the characters were well written in a way that made you connect with them. The relationship between Helen and Grant took a while to thaw and eventually became a very sweet bond. He is very patient with her and her trauma while she is also considerate of his perspective (eventually). Definitely worth the read and very easy to breeze through this story. Thank you Avon for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

I went into reading this book not realizing how attached I’d get to Helen and Grant. Their love story is so different from the many books I’ve read before. Grant accidentally ran over Helen’s younger sister Michelle in high school when she darted out into the road to end her life. Obviously, Helen was not fond of Grant after that.

Years later, Helen has written a successful YA series that is being adapted into a television show and she gets a position in the writers room. Guess who else is there? Why yes, it’s Grant.

The angst was so real. Reading as they fall for each other while knowing it’s doomed was so good. Grant was very swoon-worthy in his love for Helen. And you couldn’t help but feel for Helen as she waged between her love for Grant and how her parents would react to their relationship.

A fun bit at the end was realizing that the author is directing one of Emily Henry’s book adaptations as well as writing the screenplay for another! Can’t wait for those to be released.

Thanks as always to NetGalley for the ARC.

I really enjoyed this book! The writing was really crisp and I can tell the author is going to do great things for the romance genre.